Ehime Football Club (愛媛フットボールクラブ, Ehime Futtobōrukurabu) commonly known as Ehime FC (愛媛FC, Ehime Efu Shī) is a professional football club based in Matsuyama, the capital city of Ehime Prefecture of Japan. The club currently compete in J2 League, the second tier of Japanese professional football. They returned to J2 League in 2024, following promotion as third-tier league champions of 2023.
 | |||
| Full name | Ehime Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | Ehime | ||
| Founded | 1970 | ||
| Stadium | Ningineer Stadium Matsuyama, Ehime | ||
| Capacity | 21,419 | ||
| Chairman | Fumio Kamei | ||
| Manager | Kiyotaka Ishimaru | ||
| League | J2 League | ||
| 2023 | J3 League, 1st of 20 (promoted) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
History
The club was founded in 1970 as Matsuyama Soccer Club and renamed itself as Ehime Football Club in 1995.[1] For many years it competed in the regional and prefectural league, as Matsuyama was represented in the Japan Soccer League by the local club belonging to the Teijin company.
Ehime F.C. was promoted to the Japan Football League in 2003. After winning the JFL in 2005 season, Ehime spent 16 seasons in the J2 League before being relegated to the J3 League at the end of the 2021 season.
On 28 November 2007, Ehime pulled off a major shock by consigning the Urawa Red Diamonds, the AFC Champions League 2007 winners, to a fourth-round exit from the Emperor's Cup courtesy of a 2–0 win on Urawa's home soil, Urawa Komaba Stadium.[2]
On 11 November 2023, after two years absence from Japanese second division, Ehime FC officially returned to J2 League for 2024 season.[3] They were promoted as J3 League champions of 2023 season with a narrow 1-0 win against their local rivals, FC Imabari on the matchweek 35, with Riki Matsuda scored the only goal of the match.[4][5]
Stadium
The club plays its home games at Ningineer Stadium in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. The stadium, which is owned by Ehime Prefecture, has a capacity of 21,419 spectators. The sports facility is operated and managed by the Ehime Prefectural Sports Promotion Corporation as the designated manager.
Record as J. League member
| Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Promoted | Relegated |
| League | J. League Cup | Emperor's Cup | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Div. | Teams | Pos. | P | W | D | L | G | A | GD | Pts | Attendance/G | ||
| 2006 | J2 | 13 | 9th | 48 | 14 | 11 | 23 | 51 | 63 | -13 | 53 | 4,139 | Not eligible | 4th round |
| 2007 | 13 | 10th | 48 | 12 | 9 | 27 | 39 | 66 | -27 | 45 | 3,317 | Quarter final | ||
| 2008 | 15 | 14th | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 39 | 66 | -27 | 37 | 3,704 | 4th round | ||
| 2009 | 18 | 15th | 51 | 12 | 11 | 28 | 54 | 80 | -26 | 47 | 3,694 | 2nd round | ||
| 2010 | 19 | 11th | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 48 | 4,386 | 2nd round | ||
| 2011 | 20 | 15th | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 44 | 54 | -10 | 44 | 3,475 | 4th round | ||
| 2012 | 22 | 16th | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 47 | 46 | 1 | 50 | 3,629 | 2nd round | ||
| 2013 | 22 | 17th | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 43 | 52 | -9 | 47 | 3,950 | 2nd round | ||
| 2014 | 22 | 19th | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 54 | 58 | -4 | 48 | 3,820 | 4th round | ||
| 2015 | 22 | 5th | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 47 | 39 | 8 | 65 | 3,771 | 3rd round | ||
| 2016 | 22 | 10th | 42 | 12 | 20 | 10 | 41 | 40 | 1 | 56 | 4,089 | 3rd round | ||
| 2017 | 22 | 15th | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 54 | 68 | -14 | 51 | 3,866 | 3rd round | ||
| 2018 | 22 | 18th | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 34 | 52 | -18 | 48 | 3,161 | 2nd round | ||
| 2019 | 22 | 19th | 42 | 12 | 6 | 24 | 46 | 62 | -16 | 42 | 3,780 | 2nd round | ||
| 2020 † | 22 | 21st | 42 | 8 | 10 | 24 | 38 | 68 | -30 | 34 | 1,512 | Did not qualify | ||
| 2021 † | 22 | 20th | 42 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 38 | 67 | -29 | 35 | 1,854 | 1st round | ||
| 2022 | J3 | 18 | 7th | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 51 | 41 | 10 | 52 | 2,938 | Did not qualify | |
| 2023 | 20 | 1st | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 59 | 48 | 11 | 73 | 3,674 | |||
| 2024 | J2 | 20 | TBD | 38 | First round | TBD | ||||||||
- Key
- Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
- Attendance/G = Average league home attendance
- † 2020 & 2021 seasons attendance reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
- Source: J. League Data Site[6]
Honours
| Honour | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Shikoku Football League | 3 | 1998, 1999, 2000 |
| Japan Football League | 1 | 2005 |
| J3 League | 1 | 2023 |
Current squad
As of 22 March 2024.[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | DF |  KOR | Kang Sung-chan |
| 21 | DF | KOR | Bak Keon-woo |
| 22 | MF |  JPN | Nelson Ishiwatari (on loan from Cerezo Osaka) |
| 23 | DF | KOR | Yu Ye-chan |
| 24 | MF | JPN | Ryo Sato |
| 25 | MF | JPN | Taiga Ishiura |
| 26 | DF | JPN | Kazuya Kanazawa DSP |
| 27 | FW | JPN | Kyota Funahashi |
| 28 | MF | JPN | Akira Hamashita (on loan from Tokushima Vortis) |
| 33 | DF | JPN | Sora Ogawa |
| 36 | GK | JPN | Shugo Tsuji |
| 37 | DF | JPN | Reiya Morishita |
| 40 | FW | JPN | Kazuki Sota |
| 45 | GK | JPN | Kazuma Makiguchi |
| 49 | GK | JPN | Raihei Kurokawa |
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Club officials
| Position[8] | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Kiyotaka Ishimaru |
| Assistant managers | Shinya Aono Kazuhisa Kawahara On Byung-hoon |
| Goalkeeper coach | Keisuke Hada |
| Physical coach | Takehisa Tsugawa |
| Analytical coach | Toya Takemoto |
| Interpreter | Yohei Murayama |
| Chief trainer | Haruhiko Tsukada |
| Trainer | Yukinari Miyamoto Hiroki Hongo |
| Chief doctor | Kazuki Morizane |
| Doctor | Takashi Inoue Yoshito Homma Shinji Iwata Tomofumi Kinoshita |
| Competent | Hideki Ikenaga |
| Side affairs | Manato Fujitsu Taichi Zen |
| Mental advisor | Konomi Kimura |
Kit evolution
| Home kit - 1st | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
         2006 |      2007 |      2008 |     2009 |     2010 |
   2011 |     2012 |     2013 |     2014 |     2015 |
    2016 |      2017 |      2018 |      2019 |      2020 |
     2021 |      2022 |      2023 - | ||
| Away kit - 2nd | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
    2006 |      2007 |     2008 |      2009 |     2010 |
    2011 |     2012 |     2013 |      2014 |     2015 |
    2016 |      2017 |      2018 |      2019 |      2020 |
     2021 |     2022 |      2023 - | ||
Managerial history
| Manager | Nationality | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Finish | ||
| Takashi Onishi | Japan | 1 February 2001 | 31 January 2005 |
| Kazuhito Mochizuki | Japan | 1 February 2005 | 14 September 2009 |
| Ivica Barbarić |  Bosnia | 15 September 2009 | 15 November 2012 |
| Kiyotaka Ishimaru | Japan | 1 February 2013 | 31 January 2015 |
| Takashi Kiyama | Japan | 1 February 2015 | 31 January 2017 |
| Shuichi Mase | Japan | 1 February 2017 | 15 May 2018 |
| Kenta Kawai | Japan | 15 May 2018 | 31 January 2021 |
| Shigenari Izumi | Japan | 1 February 2021 | 4 April 2021[9] |
| Noritada Saneyoshi | Japan | 7 April 2021 | 16 December 2021[10] |
| Kiyotaka Ishimaru | Japan | 17 December 2021 [11] | |
References
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)